The Event Will Take Place in 13 African Countries during this month
KIGALI, Rwanda, 6 June 2017,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/- The Next Einstein Forum (NEF), an initiative of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in partnership with Robert Bosch Stiftung, today announces the launch of NEF Africa Science Week in 13 African countries throughout June 2017. NEF Ambassadors, local science and technology champions, together with support of local academic, public and private sector stakeholders and sponsors, will lead the three to five days of events in their countries.
"The NEF Africa Science Week is the first coordinated science week across Africa. Our primary objective is to develop tomorrow's scientists and technologists by engaging children and young people in scientific activities like science caravans and hackathons. Our activities will also demonstrate the critical impact of science to daily life. In the long term, we hope to catalyse investment in research and development and popularize science," said Thierry Zomahoun, AIMS President and CEO and NEF Chair.
June 2017 will witness exciting sessions in Sudan, Rwanda, Senegal, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, the Republic of Congo, South Africa and Tanzania. Each country will have specific activities, designed to enable citizens to engage with everyday science and scientists. In the line-up are exciting events like hackathons, technology discovery through coding, focus on entrepreneurship through the lens of science and mathematics, science knowledge street trivia, a caravan of science and events which focus on women scientists.
"The weeklong signature event will highlight best practices for attracting and retaining young people, especially girls and women, in the sciences, and on the academic side, strengthen research networks and communities of scientists across Africa. We expect that the next few editions will see technology facilitate coordinated regional activities. We would like to thank our partners in the public, academic and private sector for supporting this initiative. Africa will only compete globally if there are coordinated sustainable investments in building the pipeline of researchers and innovators," said Mr. Zomahoun.
Looking to the future, the NEF will expand the reach of its Africa Science Week to 30 countries in 2018 and all 54 by 2020. Beyond numbers, the NEF hopes that Africa Science Week will grow to include major activities in schools and universities, and result in concrete collaboration between the research community and private sector.
In line with the NEF's Dakar Declaration, issued at the first biennial NEF Global Gathering 2016, held in in Dakar, Senegal, Africa Science Week will place public engagement at the heart of advancing Africa's scientific agenda. The next edition of the NEF Global Gathering will be held in Kigali in March 2018 under the patronage of H.E. Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda.
Africa Science Week is made possible by support from Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Google and local sponsors in the each country. Find out how to participate and support Africa Science Week at www.nef.org/asw
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of the Next Einstein Forum.
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About the Next Einstein Forum
Launched in 2013, the Next Einstein Forum (NEF) is an initiative of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in partnership with Robert Bosch Stiftung. The NEF is a platform that connects science, society and policy in Africa and the rest of the world - with the goal to leverage science for human development globally. The NEF believes that Africa's contributions to the global scientific community are critical for global progress. At the centre of NEF efforts are Africa's young people, the driving force for Africa's scientific renaissance. The NEF is a unique youth-driven forum. Our headline biennial scientific events, NEF Global Gatherings' participants are 42 or younger. Far from an ordinary science forum, the NEF Global Gatherings position science at the centre of global development efforts. The next NEF Global Gathering will be held in March 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda. In addition, through our Communities of Scientists, we showcase the contributions of Africa's brilliant youth to Africa's scientific emergence through its class of NEF Fellows who are Africa's top scientists and technologists, all under the age of 42 and NEF Ambassadors who are the NEF's 54 science and technology Ambassadors on the ground.
The NEF is also working, together with partners such as the African Academy of Sciences, Ministers' of Education, Science and Research across Africa and other global scientific and private sector companies, to build an African scientific identity. By bringing together key stakeholders, the NEF hopes to drive the discussion from policy to implementation by leveraging buy in and best practice results from Africa and the world. Have a look at our benchmark Dakar Declaration.
Finally, the NEF is telling untold stories of scientific research and innovation across the continent through our various platforms. We want to recalibrate what 'innovation' means in Africa. We want to make the link between science and technology, even basic sciences, to everyday life. We believe the next Einstein will be African.
The NEF has been endorsed by the African Union Commission, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Governments of Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa, the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) and a growing number of private sector and civil society partners from across the world who are passionate about positioning Africa's scientific community as an influential member in the global scientific community, which will ensure sustainable human development in Africa and other parts of the world.
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Nathalie Munyampenda
NEF Associate Director of Public Engagement
Eloïne Barry
African Media Agency
Source: Next Einstein Forum
